Immortals
by Capt. Maule
Summary: Zelos recieves a visit from an old friend. Immortality isn't so bad. Zelos/Colette, past Zelos/Raine. M for future chapters


Disclaimer - Tales of Symphonia and its characters are property of Namco

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Immortals

A dark figure weaved across the inky black sky, bobbing lazily with the mild night wind. Suspended in the air by shimmering wings of golden light, Zelos Wilder flew unevenly over the thick cluster of trees that surrounded his semi-reclusive home. The bright city lights far behind him, the man began his descent towards a modest log cabin of his and Yuan's creation, nestled in the wood. It was decidedly less extravagant than most of his previous places of residence, but at the turn of the current century, the former Chosen of Tethe'alla had opted for something a little more private. Landing heavier than he intended to, the redhead staggered clumsily to the ground.

'And _that's_ why we don't drink and fly, genius' he muttered, forcing himself up off the ground wearily 'lucky we made it this far without crashing…' As a man with eternity to look forward to, he found himself talking aloud to nobody in particular more often than he would like to admit. Stumbling up onto the porch he fumbled in his pockets for his key. Coming up empty, Zelos cursed in frustration, banging his head painfully against the wooden door.

'Not _again_' he hissed, wracking his inebriated brain for the exact spot where he had left his keys back at Yuan's place in the mountains. Not bothering to entertain even the thought of flying all the way back to his long-time friend's home to retrieve them, the disgruntled redhead gripped the metal door handle and with a minute exertion of his hidden strength, shattered the lock with a quick wrench of his hand. Stepping in from the gloom into a different sort of darkness, Zelos shuffled into his home. A single creak from one of the floorboards deep into the cabin was the only warning he received before a pair of hands grabbed him roughly by the lapels of his jacket and he was forced back with incredible strength. Spinning utterly on instinct, the redhead slammed his assailant against the door frame, drawing a concealed blade from his sleeve and pressing it against their throat. He suddenly felt the familiar touch of cold steel against his own neck, which neatly informed him that his attacker was equally armed. All was silent for a long moment in a tense stalemate before his would be attacker heaved a decidedly feminine sigh.

'Damn it, Zelos, I thought you were a burglar or something' the woman muttered, removing her blade from his jugular as he did likewise. It had been at least two hundred years since he had last heard it, but Zelos knew that voice from anywhere.

'Nice to see you too, Colette…' he replied, unable to keep the grin off his face 'or shall I call you my adorable little angel? Just for old time's sake?' She had turned her back to move off and let him into the cabin, but he knew she was rolling her eyes. She always did. The redhead strode over to the fireplace with a light spring in his step.

'Two old friends in one evening?' he thought aloud, as he summoned a pinch of fire magic, directing it at the kindling to lend a warm, glowing light to the small cabin 'must be my birthday'

Turning around he finally found himself face to face with Colette Brunel, and was suddenly struck by how much he had missed her. As one of the three immortals that inhabited the planet, he had learned to appreciate the only two who would never leave him, the only two whose lives were not but a single drop in the ocean of his lifespan. This was not to say that he had not had friends, lovers, families even, over the last few thousand years. Raine would never have forgiven him if he had '_moped_' for the rest of eternity. He chuckled for a moment, recalling her words in the weeks that led up to her death, even in old age she had maintained her vitality and zest for life, something he liked to think he had coaxed out of her. Realising he had spaced out for Origin knows how long, Zelos turned his full attention to the blonde girl who had so suddenly flitted back into his life. He found that she had seated herself in one of the plush armchairs near the fire, perching with her legs crossed, fixing him with a look that just seemed so… _understanding_.

'Sorry' he mumbled, suddenly embarrassed. She had come to visit him and here he was practically ignoring her. Colette sent him a smile that warmed him more than the fire.

'I get lost sometimes too' she replied, with a somewhat faraway expression. Silence once again fell between them, and it was a long time before Zelos spoke up again.

'So are you still doing that Superhero thing?' he asked, feigning nonchalance, his smile wicked. Colette fixed him with what he assumed was an attempt at a stern look, but the twitching of her lips gave her game away. Her poker face still needed work.

'I wasn't a Superhero' she insisted, her giggles already trying to escape while she tried valiantly to keep them down.

'But you wore a _mask_…' Zelos pointed out, holding up a finger '…a _cape_' he raised a second finger '…had _matching boots_' a third '…and _flew_ to heroically rescue citizens in danger'

'It's not funny!' Colette insisted, her unchecked giggling flying in direct defiance of her words. Zelos pressed his advantage.

'Oh _contraire_, my little angel' he grinned 'I saw the news report back then and I _promise_, to the very few of us lucky enough to know and love you, it was very, _very_ funny' his smile widened further when Colette blushed a deep pink, which she tried to hide by covering her face with her hands. Zelos pushed himself to his feet with a grunt and moved towards the far corner of the cabin where his kitchen was set up. Digging through a large ice box he fished out a bottle of beer for his guest, and after a brief debate with himself, pulled out another. After the colossal amount of alcohol he and Yuan had consumed this evening, another beer wasn't going to matter all that much. Slowing his pace on the way back to Colette, the redhead childishly slipped the bottle down the back of the woman's jacket, causing her to squeak in surprise.

'_Jackass_' she shot at him while he grinned, sticking her tongue out, matching his childishness with her own. Accepting the bottle, the blonde grinned devilishly and knocked the bottom of her drink on top of Zelos', laughing when he immediately took the frothing bottle into his mouth to stop it from spilling.

'Funny' he smirked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Colette smiled serenely back at him.

'Bet it's been a while since you felt something like that…' the blonde remarked casually '_oh wait_… haven't you been hanging out with Yuan tonight?' Zelos mouth sagged half-way open inelegantly. With it being so long since he last saw her, the former Chosen had all but forgotten that his counterpart had matured _greatly_ over the generations that had served as their life so far.

'I bow to the Queen of Zing' Zelos offered, inclining his head in a small bow which Colette returned regally.

'You keep forgetting that I grew up don't you?' she said coyly, as though she had read his mind. Zelos scoffed, but she was absolutely right. Seeing her practically untouched by the passage of time along with hearing her talk so candidly was messing with him slightly. He was brought out of his thoughts by Colette's squirming. Standing up, she unzipped, and wriggled out of her thick black jacket, tossing it to the ground.

'Do _these_ change you're opinion?' she asked with an expectant expression, her hands firmly on her hips. Zelos stared back at her, wondering what exactly he was supposed to be noticing, before realisation slapped him in the face, and his mouth sagged open for the second time since he had arrived home.

'You _didn't_…' he almost stuttered, eyes wide. Well, they certainly did change his opinion, he would give her that.

'Yep!' the blonde replied with a noticeable hint of pride in her voice 'You know how we can change our appearance whenever we want right?' Zelos nodded dumbly 'I figured why not?' to Zelos' dismay; she began to hop on the spot, causing her new assets to _bounce_.

'You made your breasts bigger…' the redhead stated needlessly, trying to tear his eyes away but found himself unable. Colette had now taken to twisting at the waist in order to better showcase her self-made alterations. 'Uh…_why_?' he added, all too aware that he hadn't blinked in some time.

'Well, _you_ might not have noticed, Mr Hermit…' she smiled as she sat back down, a light blush to her cheeks a gentle indication that she was pleased by his reaction '…but people have gotten pretty image conscious in the last decade. The last time you saw me I'd aged myself by four or five years so I wouldn't be seen as a child for the rest of my life. You remember that?'

'Yeah, I remember…' Zelos muttered, having recovered enough from his initial shock to allow a lazy smirk slide across his smooth face as he cast his mind back momentarily to that day. Colette had once again tracked him down and arrived, quite out of the blue, at his door. He had been so taken aback with her new appearance that he was rendered speechless for over an hour while the blonde had done the talking.

'I thought you might' Colette answered with a sly smirk of her own 'all you did was stare at my ass for the whole visit' Zelos, with his eternal lack of shame, smiled widely back at her.

'In my defence…' the redhead replied seriously '…I did stare at your legs a lot too' he added, hammering his point home by openly doing just that. Colette's soft giggle was almost musical, as the male angel motioned with his hand for her to continue with her little story.

'As I was saying' the blonde began again, her blush still noticeable 'I changed my appearance the first time so that I could blend in with the world, and I did this as a sort of finishing touch. Besides…' she shrugged, her smile faltering slightly 'what the world considers normal seems to change every generation. Like I said, we're lucky enough to have the ability to change our appearance whenever we want, so why shouldn't we use it?' the humour had left Colette's expression and Zelos instinctively tried to bring it back.

'Be that as it may, my little angel…' he drawled, springing up from his seat, throwing out his arms impressively '…why would I want to mess with perfection?' This drew a small smile from Colette, for which he was glad. Good humour back in its rightful place, the blonde mimicked his borderline-lust fuelled inspection of his form. Watching her eyes scan his body, Zelos quirked an eyebrow in question. '_Well_?' he asked, the woman' approval of his appearance suddenly very important to him. The blush on Colette's cheeks that had all but faded away made a second coming, but she masked it with a sly smile, her eyes resting just below his belt.

'Are you sure you haven't changed _anything_?' she asked innocently, but Zelos knew not to trust that tone this time around. What she was suggesting was obvious. The redhead smirked. If she was trying to fluster him, then she was barking up the wrong tree.

'_That_, my dear, is one thing I would never, _ever_, change' he replied huskily, stalking towards the seated blonde with slow deliberate steps. Colette looked up at him with a wicked gleam in her eye. Their game had taken a different turn now, and the challenge had been thrown down, and as to which one of them would cave first? It was anybodies guess. Crossing her legs languidly, the former Iselian met his gaze mischievously.

'Such _talk_' she challenged softly, locking her blue eyes with his. The sudden heat in the air between them rose another couple of degrees, and Zelos almost paused. Did she know how gladly he would meet her lofty challenge? Part of him hoped not, as no matter how many centuries he would be on this ever changing earth, he had no plans on becoming _predictable_. Then again, the blonde had always been big on people-watching, and just like himself, she did so especially among friends. Such was her manner, Zelos hadn't been the least bit surprised when the observant girl had been the first to suspect the extra-curricular activities between Raine and himself, way back when. The sudden thought of his long departed partner had him wondering if she would be tutting at this situation between the two angels like the school mistress she used to be, or laughing and telling them to 'go for it'. Halting a few steps before his Sylverant born counterpart, Zelos decided not to think too much into it, instead opting to simply '_wing it_' as he had done for the majority of his long life. While he had been briefly absorbed in his thoughts, Colette had pushed herself to her own feet, and was presently eying him with an openly interested expression. Her hands found her hips as a challenging smirk found its way onto her lips.

'_Well?_' asked the blonde slyly, returning his earlier question to sender, watching him intently from behind her lashes with what Zelos would almost call a _predatory_ gleam. The red-head had been at this game for far longer than she had, however, and wasn't going to fall _quite_ that easily.

'Well _what_?' he sent back, mirroring her stance, tucking his thumbs into the loops of his belt. If this was going where he was sure it was going, he was damned if he was going to be the one to make the first move. Colette's answering grin was _wicked_. She took her eyes off his for a moment to scan the interior of the cabin.

'You do have a _bed_ in here, right?' she asked, taking a single step towards him, her voice lower than he had ever expected to hear it. Well, that cleared up any doubt about her intentions. There were now only a couple of feet between them now. Zelos chuckled gently.

'I haven't become that much of a wild-man y'know' he replied in mock offence. He gestured with a tilt of his head towards the only other door in the room besides the broken front entrance. 'Bedroom's right there, Blondie. Though I'd have thought you'd have found it already. Who knows how much time you had to snoop around my bachelor pad before I got here…' he tutted with a shake of his head. Colette stuck her tongue out cheekily before closing the last bit of space between them. Standing up on her toes, the blonde angel placed a feather-light kiss on his lips, then, as quick as she had moved forward, she stepped back once more. A lazy smirk made its way across the red haired man's face. The kiss had been chaste enough, but the look she was giving him now was wholly adult. Turning in place, Colette walked towards the adjoining room with a noticeable sway in her hips. Without preamble, she calmly pulled her blue top up and over her head to toss unceremoniously in a chair as she walked through the door to Zelos' room, leaving the owner staring behind her. For the second time that evening, Zelos found himself having to remind himself to blink, thoroughly impressed with his fellow angel's confidence. _That_ had been particularly forward.

'Are you coming or not?' Colette's voice drifted out from inside the room, rousing him from his sudden (and warranted, in his opinion) lapse in concentration. Zelos shook his head slightly to marshal the wits that the blonde had so easily scattered.

'Right behind you, Angel' he murmured, and with a snap of his fingers, he extinguished the soft glow of the fireplace, plunging the room back into darkness.

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This has been an idea that I've been playing with for a while now. They both probably come across as pretty OOC, but I figured as characters that are going to be living forever, (in my interpretation anyway) then a certain level of adaptability can be excused. Anyway, like it/hate it, here it is. For anybody who has been reading my other stories so far, the last chapter for Unprofessional Behavior is almost finished and the next 'installment' for the Zelos/Raine angle is on the way, thanks for reading.


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